May 25, 2007|By South Dakota Grain & Feed Association, Special to the Farm Forum

ABERDEEN Ð Despite industry requests to halt the sale of a new genetically modified corn seed variety, Syngenta's Agrisure RW (MIR 604) has been released to the public. The new seed which provides resistance to root worms is approved for use in the United States but not in major export markets that include Mexico, Japan and the European Union. Syngenta says it has placed sufficient labeling and handling restrictions on the new seed to insure it will stay in the domestic market and traces of the new seed will not find its way into the export market. Several years ago, a new Starlink variety that was similarly not approved for human consumption made its way to Japan with disastrous long-lasting effects on US exports. Fearing more of the same, reactions from shippers, handlers and purchasers has been swift. May 1st the BNSF Railroad announced an embargo on Agrisure RW shipments in any of its railroad cars. Further, the BNSF will hold any shipper financially responsible for any expenses involved as a result of finding the presence of Agrisure RW. The other major railroads quickly imposed similar bans. The ethanol industry, worried that traces of the new variety will find its way into their dried distillers grain (a by-product of making ethanol) that is sold for cattle feed, have announced they won't purchase it. Syngenta says the seed is good science and it is necessary to help increase corn production to meet the exploding demand for ethanol production. The grain industry is not questioning the desirable traits of this new variety but believes Syngenta got the horse before the cart by releasing it without foreign approval. Presumably, the new seed will eventually get approval but no one knows if it will come before the fall harvest. Further complicating the issue for grain elevators, there is not as yet a quick test to determine the presence of Agrisure RW so it could be kept segregated. That of course assumes the receiving firm could afford the extra facilities (bins, conveyers, etc.) to keep it from contaminating the rest of the incoming grain. Because some of this seed is already in the ground, one expert has expressed concern that a complete ban might drive the new variety "underground" where it will eventually be discovered contaminating lots of other grain. The South Dakota Grain & Feed Association says the unapproved (for foreign markets) Agrisure RW never should have left the shelf.